Posts Tagged ‘folds’

My wife had gone shopping. Did not find what she wanted, but came back with an interesting blue pot, Quickly put it to use for my Oil Painting class. Started this as a demonstration and finished it in my studio. I have ideas for incorporating this into additional Still Life compositions.

Twice a year, Rockford holds ArtScene, an event intended to showcase the works of area artists. The event runs Friday and Saturday from late afternoon through the evening. One challenge is that generally 35 to 40 venues scattered around the city host artists. Another of the difficulties is that the event gets very little useful notice or promotion from the local media (sorry, but a photo in the Sunday paper or a short film clip on the Saturday late news, does not help). A few artists post invitations to their friends, but attendance is spotty.

The most recent event was challenging and we knew before the event started. Weather was predicted to be rainy and cold, not conducive for folks that might attempt to visit multiple venues. Rather than risk sitting around all weekend doing nothing, I decided to use a portion of my space to place a small Still Life display, set up my French Easel and create a painting during the event. I thought that my painting demonstration might stir up interest in my art and perhaps result in an off-the-easel sale. The painting, Flowers in the Can (above) was created Friday night. It was so much fun that I tackled the larger, Flowers in a Pot (below) on Saturday night (close to finish on Saturday, but needed a few finishing touches at home).

As any plein air artist knows, painting in public leaves one very vulnerable to comments. Several people did not realize that I had the display set up and wondered if I was making these paintings up out of my imagination. One person asked if I was painting in watercolors. I replied that these were oils, her response was that she felt that I should be painting in acrylics. There were additional interesting comments, but I will refrain from sharing at this time.

Slow weekend. No sales, but I did walk away with two good paintings from the event. I plan to paint again at the next ArtScene this October. Hopefully to more favorable financial results.

On a trip to a local antique mall, I came across a copper tea kettle. Good condition. It was very dirty, but it was offered at an attractive price. After getting it home, I used some bartenders polish on it. May have removed too much of the patina, but so what. Great reflective qualities.

Used the pot and flowers in the blue vase as a prop for a quick, little demo in my Oil Painting class. Decided to work this opportunity a little further and add a few more elements. Loved working the folds of the cloth. Happy with the motion in this work. That is, the raw shapes of the Still Life elements and the flow created by the shadows in the background. Getting the “color” of the copper was a tough task. I am happy with the results.

I started with the idea of putting the Chianti bottle, glass of wine (or, in this case, Cranberry juice) and grapes together for a still life. It needed something more. A stronger vertical could be had with a candle. I had to dig through a few boxes of props to find this candlestick holder. It needed more. I played with the tablecloth to get this play of folds. I liked it and was ready to start when my wife intervened. Helen felt that the set up needed something on the left side. In came the small blue vase and flowers. Challenge after challenge to complete this work in time to deliver to a gallery for the start of their season.

On a visit to a local antique mall, I picked up this brown pot. I realized that it could yield some interesting reflections. Began to put together a still life grouping. After I started to play with folds in the fabric, I decided to remove some of the items. By reducing the set up to the pot, I could really play with the folds in the cloth and the resulting reflections. Initially, the set up only included the pot and pink roses. As I was nearing completion, we decided to add the purple flowers to add a change of color.

Two more small oil paintings started as a resource for my Oil students. The willow tree is from a reference photo. The willow is at the entrance to Midway Village in Rockford. The pears were started to help my students understand methods for tackling folds in cloth. Both paintings were quickly requested by galleries for display (and sale – hopefully).

Pear Study – Oil on Canvas Panel – 6″ x 8″

Happy New Year. Hoping that you all enjoy a prosperous and happy 2018. Thank you for following my posts.

While out of town on vacation, I received a call from one of the galleries which represent my artwork. They called to let me know that they sold a painting which I had recently finished. The gallery assumed that I had the painting at my studio and could forward the work upon my return to Rockford. Slight problem. The work in question was currently on consignment with another gallery.

I offered to create a painting similar to the desired painting, but with a kicker. The gallery contacted the buyer-to-be and offered the deal. The buyer agreed to consider the idea. Upon return to Rockford, I set off to work on this painting. As soon as the painting was finished, I forwarded a photo to the gallery. Response was that the buyer was very interested, get the work to the gallery as soon as possible. A sigh of relief when word came back that the buyer was thrilled with this painting.